B71 Sandur
Encyclopedia
B71 (B71 being short for Bóltfelagið 1971 - literal translation: "Ball Club 1971") is a Faroese football club, playing their home games Inni í Dal, Sandur
Sandur (Faroe Islands)
Sandur is a village on the south coast of the island of Sandoy in the Faroe Islands. The Sandur hoard, dating to the end of the 11th century, suggests the long history of the village. In January 2010 the population stood at 558....

. The team is made up of players from all the towns on the island of Sandoy. B71 play in the Faroese Premier League, Vodafonedeildin.

Current squad

As of January 24, 2011

Origins (b.1971)

Although B71 is one of the youngest football-teams
Football team
A football team is the collective name given to a group of players selected together in the various team sports known as football.Such teams could be selected to play in an against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-star team or even selected as a...

 in the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...

, there has always been a considerable amount of interest in sports on the particular island from which the team fares.
Football had been played well before B71 was established in 1970, but since sand-surfaces were deemed unsuitable for football, a team had yet to be formed.

In the late 60’s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...

, two of the island’s towns, Sandur
Sandur (Faroe Islands)
Sandur is a village on the south coast of the island of Sandoy in the Faroe Islands. The Sandur hoard, dating to the end of the 11th century, suggests the long history of the village. In January 2010 the population stood at 558....

 and Skopun
Skopun
Skopun is a town in the Faroe Islands situated on the northern coast of Sandoy, Sand Island. Skopun is the second largest town on the island.*Population: 499 *Postcode: FO 240...

, started to compete. There were no goals, so instead they used two rocks each, representing goalposts. This rivalry between two of Sandoy’s biggest towns went on for several summers, bringing in truckloads of people from Skopun
Skopun
Skopun is a town in the Faroe Islands situated on the northern coast of Sandoy, Sand Island. Skopun is the second largest town on the island.*Population: 499 *Postcode: FO 240...

, even though cars had yet to be accessible to the common man.

At around the same time, a new school was being built on Sandoy
Sandoy
Sandoy is a small island that is part of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark. The largest population center on the island is the village of Sandur with a population of six hundred....

, where there also would be built a field on which to play sports. As a result of this, people started talking about forming a new team and on New Year’s Day 1970, a sports team was established. The preliminary year, the team was called Sand, since only players from the town of Sandur
Sandur
A sandur is a glacial outwash plain formed of sediments deposited by meltwater at the terminus of a glacier.- Formation :Sandar are found in glaciated areas, such as Svalbard, Kerguelen Islands, and Iceland...

 were fielded. But the following year the team’s name was changed to B71. Since players from the entire island wanted to be a part of the team, it no longer seemed fitting to name the team after just one town.

The first year only two teams were fielded. One senior team, playing in, what in those days was referred to as Meðaldeildin and one boys-team.

The Early Years (1972-1985)

In the beginning, B71 took baby-steps towards their eventual greater years in the late 1980s, early to mid-1990s. Players like Eli Hentze, Torbjørn Jensen, brothers Róin and Jóan Petur Clementsen, and many more, were still playing in the youth divisions, and would not feature prominently until they came of age in the second half of the eighties.

Faroese Champions (1986-1989)

Nothing really spectacular happened until B71 became 3. division champions in 1986. Two years later, in 1988, they won the 2. division and then, remarkably, they became 1. division champions in 1989, without losing a single game that year. When all was said and done, B71 ended up with a resounding 31 point tally, as opposed to a more modest 22 points by runners-up HB, who, coincidentally, were pummeled 6-2 in the final match of the season against none other than, B71.

B71's succes has, in later years, been attributed largely to the successful blend of a Polish influence, consisting of coach Jan Kazcynski, robust midfielder, turned coach, Piotr Krakowski, goalkeeper Waldemar Nowicki
Waldemar Nowicki
- Career :Waldemar Nowicki has played a great deal of his career with B71 Sandoy, but has also played football for several Polish teams. He was very well known on the Faroe Islands for being a part of B71's successful stint in the early 1990s...

, and uniquely solid local players, including, Eli Hentze, Ib Mohr Olsen, Páll á Reynatúgvu
Páll á Reynatúgvu
Páll á Reynatúgvu , is a Faroese politician, and former football player, currently serving as a member of the Faroese Parliament....

, Torbjørn Jensen, brothers Róin and Jóan Petur Clementsen, and many more.

B71 also reached the final of the Faroese Cup
Faroe Islands Cup
The Faroe Islands Cup is the main football cup competition in Faroe Islands. The first edition was played in 1955.-Finals:List of finals:-External links:**...

 in 1989. The initial match resulted in a 1-1 draw, but they ended up losing 2-0 after the replay.

In the space of 3–4 years B71 had gone from being an obscure 3. division side, to Faroese 1. division champions.

Relegation shocker (1990)

For some reason or another, B71 were unable to defend their title the following year. Instead, everything ended in catastrophe. Rather than posing a title challenge, B71 were relegated, forced to spend at least a year in the second-best division.
The shame would, however, be short-lived, since B71 immediately bounced back and were promoted the very next year.

The infamous Faroese Cup finals (1993-1994)

Although B71 continued to pose a threat in the Faroese top-division during the early 1990s, (never finishing lower than 4th) they never captured the league trophy a second time. Instead, focus turned to the Faroese Cup
Faroe Islands Cup
The Faroe Islands Cup is the main football cup competition in Faroe Islands. The first edition was played in 1955.-Finals:List of finals:-External links:**...

, where B71 had even greater success during their reign as one of the top sides in Faroese football.

B71 reached the finals in two consecutive years. The first time in 1993 against HB who they beat 2-0, winning the trophy for the first and only time so far, and again the year later, in 1994 where they lost 2-1 against
KÍ Klaksvík
KÍ Klaksvík is a Faroese football club, playing in Klaksvík, founded in 1904. The club plays in blue and white. Their stadium has a capacity of 3000....

.

Relegation/Promotion saga (1996-2006)

After nearly a decade
Decade
A decade is a period of 10 years. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek dekas which means ten. This etymology is sometime confused with the Latin decas and dies , which is not correct....

 of mostly good results, it was inevitable that B71 eventually would have some misfortune. But no one would suspect that misfortune to last another decade.
B71 went from finishing 4th in 1995 to finishing 8th in 1996, and subsequently finishing bottom of the league a year later. This meant being relegated to the second division, only to gain promotion in 1998.

Instability tainted the play of B71, who, in spite of this, managed to escape relegation for a couple of years, until they finally went down in 2001, after having lost the relegation playoff against Skála
Skála ÍF
Skála Ítróttarfelag is a Faroese football club based in Skáli, municipality of Runavík. The club was founded on 15 May 1965. They currently play in 1. deild, which is the second best football division of the Faroe Islands....

.
B71 would have to wait until the 2006 season before finally gaining promotion again, to what had since been renamed Formuladeildin, for the fourth time since 1988.

Rise of the women's game

During this time, when the B71 men disappointed time and time again, it was the women's team that really shone. Getting the results and winning match after match was a daily occurrence for the women of B71 through much of the 1990s.

The youth squads of B71 also seemed to produce quality players, greatly due to the hiring of youth-coach Martin Kúrberg who stayed with B71 for many years.

Several of the players from the youth-ranks would become regular B71 players, but the women's team, which got off to a stellar start, slowly declined until B71 were unable to enter a team to the women's competition altogether. Efforts have since been made in resurrecting the team, but so far they have been unable to match the success of B71's Golden Girls.

B71’s Resurgency (2007)

B71 were touted as sure relegation candidates before the 2007 season, even before the first match, but halfway through the season, B71 had proven all of the pundits wrong, with sparkling results, such as a 0-3 away win at holders HB, a 1-0 home win against B36
B36 Tórshavn
B36 Tórshavn or F.C. Tórshavn is a Faroese football club, based in the capital, Tórshavn...

 and a 4-2 away thrashing against title-contenders EB/Streymur
EB/Streymur
EB/Streymur is an Faroese football club based in Streymnes. They play in the Vodafonedeildin, the top division in Faroese football.-History:...

. At the end of the season B71 were well out of relegation danger and in the safe-zone.

Present Day: Pre-season row, relegation and manager-shifts (2008-2009)

The 2008 season was kicked off with B71 once again being named underdogs, but this time B71 didn’t provide many surprises. Instead they went on a losing streak, only to salvage the first half of the season on the finishing line, when they played convincingly and won three of their last matches.

B71 had been unsettled pre-season, with the departure and absence of many key-players. The most prominent of which was one Magnus Olsen
Magnus Olsen
Magnus Bernhard Olsen was a Norwegian linguist and a professor in Norse philology at the University of Oslo from 1908 to 1948...

.
There was much controversy and tension between B71 and B36
B36 Tórshavn
B36 Tórshavn or F.C. Tórshavn is a Faroese football club, based in the capital, Tórshavn...

 regarding the player in question. Allegations of tapping up and player-poaching echoed from the B71 camp, while B36
B36 Tórshavn
B36 Tórshavn or F.C. Tórshavn is a Faroese football club, based in the capital, Tórshavn...

 kept refuting the claims, suggesting that the B71 board had been notified of the club's interest in Magnus.

This resulted in many appeals and re-appeals to the highest footballing authority in The Faroe Islands, FSF
Faroe Islands Football Association
The Faroe Islands Football Association , or FSF, is the governing body of all domestic football in the Faroe Islands, the highest level of which is the Faroe Islands Premier League. It also runs the Faroe Islands national teams for men and women. Established in 1979, it is based in...

. B71 were eventually deemed to have no case and Magnus Olsen
Magnus Olsen
Magnus Bernhard Olsen was a Norwegian linguist and a professor in Norse philology at the University of Oslo from 1908 to 1948...

's much coveted player license was transferred to B36
B36 Tórshavn
B36 Tórshavn or F.C. Tórshavn is a Faroese football club, based in the capital, Tórshavn...

.

Apart from Magnus Olsen
Magnus Olsen
Magnus Bernhard Olsen was a Norwegian linguist and a professor in Norse philology at the University of Oslo from 1908 to 1948...

, players including Hanus Clementsen, Jóhannis Jensen and Clayton Soares were all ruled out, while successful defender Anders Rasmussen
Anders Rasmussen
Anders Rasmussen is a Danish footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for AGF of the Danish Superliga. He has good reaction skills, but is insecure in the air....

 had left, during pre-season.
Three games into the season, B71's talented young winger Rasmus Nielsen was injured in a bout with Fróði Benjaminsen
Fróði Benjaminsen
Fróði Benjaminsen is a Faroese international footballer who plays professionally as a defender for HB Tórshavn. Benjaminsen previously played for B68 Toftir, Fram Reykjavík and B36 Tórshavn, and made his international debut in 1999....

 and would be out for the entire first half of the season.

The second part of the season was considered somewhat better than the first, with the team playing better football and producing fair results, but in the end they came up short with a meager 22 points. Despite the low point tally, B71 did have slim chances of avoiding relegation right up until the second-last match of the season, when they lost 0-1 at home against Víkingur
Víkingur Gøta
Víkingur is a football club in the Faroe Islands. The club was founded in 2008 after the of merger GÍ Gøta and Leirvík ÍF. The club is based in Leirvík , while the stadium is in Norðragøta. Both are located on the island of Eysturoy and are about 5 kilometers away from each other. They are usually...



Since the relegation became a reality, two key-players from the B71 squad signed with different clubs. Goalkeeper Símun Rógvi Hansen and talented midfielder Gudmund Nielsen, both 21, signed with HB and champions EB/Streymur
EB/Streymur
EB/Streymur is an Faroese football club based in Streymnes. They play in the Vodafonedeildin, the top division in Faroese football.-History:...

, respectively.
In addition to this, winger Rasmus Nielsen left during the break, to play for, then, newly promoted Tórshavn side, AB, while three of B71's four Brazilian players were released, leaving Clayton Soares as the only Brazilian to reprise his role in the team.

At around the same time, coach Eli Hentze announced he had made the decision to step down from coaching B71's first-team. He was later replaced by Frankie Jensen, who hales from Sandoy, but lives in Tórshavn
Tórshavn
Tórshavn is the capital and largest town of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the north west of the town lies the high mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the high Kirkjubøreyn...

.

Subsequently it was announced that Frankie Jensen had been released from his contract, and Eli Hentze was appointed new head-coach, for the third time in his career and at the end of the '09 season, Eli Hentze stepped down, and former 07 Vestur coach, Piotr Krakowski, succeeded him. Appointing Piotr Krakowski has been dubbed coming home, by the media, for the highly rated coach, because of his affiliation with the team in the 1990s.

B71 had, before this, clinched promotion to top-flight football, on the second to last match-day of the season, after just the one year in 1. Deild
1. deild
1. deild is the second tier of football in the Faroe Islands, it was founded in 1942. The league is organised by the Faroe Islands Football Association....


The Kit

Although B71 is, and always has been, considered a small club, even by Faroese standards, it has, nonetheless, had its fair share of kits. Lately there has almost been a new one every year, but there has also been a variety before this; some more loved than others, during B71 almost 40 year history.
The primary B71 kit is yellow and blue. B71 has never had a kit yet which didn’t include either of these colours.

The first ever B71 kit was an all yellow jersey (except for the blue sleeves and neck-line), blue shorts and yellow socks. As B71 didn’t have any sponsors during its humble beginnings, the only decorative item on the shirt was the crest. The yellow colour of the initial jerseys was also a considerably lighter shade, than they would be in later years.

During the 2007 season, B71’s away kit was white, mixed with blue, resembling the Faroese flag
Flag of the Faroe Islands
The flag of the Faroe Islands is an offset cross, which represents Christianity, following as with other Nordic flags the tradition set by Dannebrog. The flag is called Merkið which means "the banner" or "the mark"...

.

The Crest

The club’s crest shows the Faroese flag
Flag of the Faroe Islands
The flag of the Faroe Islands is an offset cross, which represents Christianity, following as with other Nordic flags the tradition set by Dannebrog. The flag is called Merkið which means "the banner" or "the mark"...

 (a red, white and blue Scandinavian Cross
Nordic Cross Flag
The Nordic Cross Flag, Nordic Cross, or Scandinavian Cross is a pattern of flags usually associated with the flags of the Scandinavian countries of which it originated. All of the Nordic countries except Greenland have adopted such flags...

) centred on a shield. On top of the flag, sits a yellow football, representing the primary colour of the team and the sport they play, upon which the team’s name is displayed.

The crest has never been changed or altered in any way since 1970, except for the shade of yellow sometimes getting darker or lighter.

Former coaches

Dates Name
1986   Finn Melin
1987-89   Jan Kazcynski
1990–96   Piotr Krakowski
1997   Eli Hentze
1998-99   Ivan Hristov
Ivan Hristov
Ivan Khristov is a Bulgarian sprint canoer who competed in the early to mid 2000s. He won a bronze medal in the K-4 1000 m event at the 2002 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Seville....

2000   Per Langvad
2001   Kári Reynheim
Kári Reynheim
Kári Reynheim is a former Faroese football striker. He is currently manager at MB.-Club career:A fine dribbler boasting a powerful shot, Reynheim played semi-professionally in Norway...

2002-03   Tom Saintfiet
Tom Saintfiet
Tom Saintfiet is Belgian association football manager and former player. He played football between 1983 to 1997 before becoming a football manager at the age of 24, becoming the youngest manager in Belgian football....

2003   Waldemar Nowicki
Waldemar Nowicki
- Career :Waldemar Nowicki has played a great deal of his career with B71 Sandoy, but has also played football for several Polish teams. He was very well known on the Faroe Islands for being a part of B71's successful stint in the early 1990s...

2004-05   Ole Andersen
2006   Dragan Kovačević
2007   Dušan Mokan
2007-08   Eli Hentze
2009   Frankie Jensen
2009   Eli Hentze
2010-   Piotr Krakowski

Notable former players

Símin Hansen Eli Hentze Torbjørn Jensen Kári Nielsen Páll á Reynatúgvu
Páll á Reynatúgvu
Páll á Reynatúgvu , is a Faroese politician, and former football player, currently serving as a member of the Faroese Parliament....

 Kári Reynheim
Kári Reynheim
Kári Reynheim is a former Faroese football striker. He is currently manager at MB.-Club career:A fine dribbler boasting a powerful shot, Reynheim played semi-professionally in Norway...

 Brandur Sandoy Piotr Krakowski Waldemar Nowicki
Waldemar Nowicki
- Career :Waldemar Nowicki has played a great deal of his career with B71 Sandoy, but has also played football for several Polish teams. He was very well known on the Faroe Islands for being a part of B71's successful stint in the early 1990s...


UEFA club competition record

Competition Matches W D L GF GA
UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

2 0 0 2 3 9
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...

2 0 0 2 0 7
TOTAL 4 0 0 4 3 16

League

  • Faroe Islands Premier League Football
    Faroe Islands Premier League Football
    The Faroe Islands Premier League, the top division of football in the Faroe Islands, was founded in 1942. It is organised by the Faroe Islands Football Association. The league has been known as Vodafonedeildin since February 2009 for sponsorship reasons....

    :
    • Champions (1): 1989
    • 3rd placed (1): 1994
  • Faroe Islands 1. Deild
    1. deild
    1. deild is the second tier of football in the Faroe Islands, it was founded in 1942. The league is organised by the Faroe Islands Football Association....

    :
    • Champions (4): 1988, 1991, 1998, 2006
    • Runner-up (4): 2002, 2004, 2005, 2009
  • Faroe Islands 2. Deild:
    • Champions (1): 1986

Cups

  • Faroe Islands Cup
    Faroe Islands Cup
    The Faroe Islands Cup is the main football cup competition in Faroe Islands. The first edition was played in 1955.-Finals:List of finals:-External links:**...

    :
    • Champions (1): 1993
    • Runner-up (2): 1989, 1994
  • FSF Trophy
    FSF Trophy
    The FSF Trophy, or FSF-Steypið , was a national football tournament, taking place on the Faroe Islands, and lasting only for 2 seasons. Its main purpose was to give the smaller teams on the Faroe Islands a chance to win a trophy, since many of these were traditionally eliminated from the Faroese...

    :
    • Champions (1): 2004
    • Runner-up (1): 2005

Official


International sites

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